~wiws~ Cherry Blossoms

Can you stand one more Dottie Angel frock?  Yes?  Good.  This is the last new thing I made for my summer rotation (although I think it was one of the first dresses I actually sewed for it--I think I used this fabric to test the pattern redraft of Simplicity 1080; I wasn't especially attached to it, so I figured it wasn't a great loss if it didn't work out)

This dress was what convinced me to go back to bust tucks.  I tried elastic on this dress first, and it just looked weird, no matter what I did.  I was almost ready to chuck it, when I thought of trying the bust tucks again and that saved the dress!

I used Art Gallery fabric, rather against my better judgement.  I've worked with Art Gallery's mid-weight cotton line several times before, and I've never really been pleased with the end result.  My main issue with Art Gallery fabric is that while it is technically quilt-weight fabric, it actually feels and behaves more like shirting weight poplin.  Which is fine if you want something crisp and structured, but that really isn't my style.  It ends up feeling too fussy and fitted to me.

I will say that I think the fabric works better in dress form, and I think this will be a fine summer dress, however.  It was 85 degrees by 7:00 a.m. this morning, and humidity is back in the 80 percentile, so I had a chance to test it out in the yuck.  I'm headed to church in a little while, so we'll see how it holds up to little child wrangling for two hours.

I think this was also my first go at a kangaroo pocket.  I drafted my own and have been pretty happy with it.  It is different than patch pockets, and goes much faster, but I think it only looks right with certain prints.  One of these times I'm going to try inseam pockets on one of these dresses.

I did worry that the fabric would wash me out, but I think the pale blue background works with the blue undertones in my skin.  Plus, pale dresses in the summer heat are a must.

Just the facts:

Cherry Blossoms dress: Art Gallery fabric (via etsy), Simplicity 1080 (modified), self-drafted kangaroo pocket, bias tape, elastic

Shoes: Dansko via ebay

Earrings: Ireland

Necklace: inherited from my gram